Melandri praises front end revamp

The Italian topped the times in opening free practice for the French Grand Prix on Friday, and said he was delighted with how his bike felt.

"The team prepared a good base setting for the bike and my feeling has been really positive right from this morning," said Melandri.

"We've improved the feeling with the front, thanks to the work we've done with the forks and the new front tyre Bridgestone have brought here.

"The handling of the bike is superb and that is important at a circuit with so much hard braking. I'm very happy with the tyres. Tomorrow I'll try and improve our performance on a qualifying tyre because my target is to qualify on the front two rows and fight for the podium."

Team boss Fausto Gresini said he hoped the good showing on Friday would help lift Melandri's confidence on the back of a difficult start to the campaign.

"I'm happy for Marco, this first place is important for his morale and I hope it's a good sign for the rest of the weekend," he explained. "From the free practice this morning Marco's been able to make the most of all his potential and that of the bike."